Psalm 119:161-164 The Voice
My heart remains true and is awed by Your words.
I celebrate because of Your promise,
like someone who discovers great treasure.
I despise and abhor lies,
but I love Your law.
Seven times every day I praise You
because of Your right rulings.
Homesick & Heartbroken
It was my freshman year in college. I was 500 miles from home and looking forward to a long weekend home for Easter. I was packed to go and even had riders to share the cost. I woke up Thursday morning for my last day of classes and there was snow on the ground. I received a call from my father in Wisconsin. He strongly suggested that I not come home because the weather between Kentucky and Wisconsin was pretty severe.
I was so heartbroken. I had had a long year fighting homesickness and I really wanted to go home. Dejected, I went to my first class. Being at a Christian college, the professor always opened class with prayer. That is, he always asked a student to pray. That morning, he asked me to pray.
I wondered, “How on earth could I pray?” I was so disappointed that I was not going to be able to go home. We all bowed our heads…
“Lord, thank youfor the beautiful snow…”
I’m not sure what else I said. I was shocked to hear myself say it. Certainly, I was not thankful for the snow. It was the cause of my demise.
Thankful in the Midst of Trial
It’s hard to be thankful when you are in the midst of trials. Your mind is so centered on your trouble, you can’t really think of anything else. But maybe praise and thankfulness are what helps ease our mind. Maybe it is what helps us make it through. Could it be the way to keep from spiraling down into despair is to continually have His praises on our heart and our mind?
This celebration of His Blessings may very well have been the beginning of a wonderful Easter weekend. I was invited to go to Georgia instead. I visited with a friend AND my aunt and Uncle.
Celebrate His Promises
Soon after the start of my chronic pain. I was introduced to the writings of Ann Voskamp. You have probably seen to droves of Thankful posts on Facebook during November. When I realized that this came from Ann, I decided to read her book, A Thousand Gifts. I was challenged to list three blessings every day for an entire year. That was the beginning of the return of smiles in the midst of the pain.
It truly does make a difference to begin listing the things for which I am grateful.
As the women’s director, I challenged all the ladies at church to take the Joy Dare with me. Several did it along with me. One couple shared with me several times how not only did the Joy Dare make them stop and think of things they were grateful for, but also, gave them laughter. The prompts weren’t always easy to find answers to, but they would laugh trying to think of ideas. What a blessing!
You have probably seen these Joy Dare prompts on Facebook. Go download them and begin your own journey to joy today! It will change your life as it did me and my friends. And as it did for Ann.
Notice again the last line of the scripture above. The Psalmist says he gave praise to God SEVEN TIMES A DAY.
Wow! Seven times. I know I’m behind.
Join me and Celebrate his Promises!
My Journey with Chronic Pain
Have you missed any of my posts? Click on the button below to be sure.
Pastor’s Wife (retired) & Chronic Pain Warrior blogs about how to make it through anything by relating her own life experiences to her writing. She is passionate about her love for the Lord and desires to spread that passion to others. She has a great desire to encourage women who are following behind her.
Amen! I have found such a difference in my days when I also join in that chorus of praise and thanksgiving. But it’s so easy in this world to forget and join in with the complaining! Thank you for this beautiful Monday morning reminder, dear friend.
I have found that I have to make a conscious choice to be thankful. If I get busy with life, I sometimes forget to be on the look out for all the things in life that I for which I am thankful. Thank you for this reminder to be thankful. I hope you have a lovely day!
I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. PSALM 34:1. If I keep praise in my mouth, there is no room for anything else. I am still working on that. Great post and reminder to keep celebrating because God is good
Thank you for coming by and giving me some encouragement. May God bless you today.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope your day is perfect as well!
That’s so true. fill your day with praise… no room for anything else! Love it!